Connection Project

Connection.

It’s been a topic that has been on my mind often, as of late – although my curiosity first was peaked back in 2015 during my Happiness Project, where I researched and implemented 12 life hacks to increase positivity and balance after some especially difficult personal setbacks.

During the project, I tried gratitude journaling, meditating, exercising, creating uplifting playlists, disconnecting from technology, prioritizing sleep, auditing my life, making time for passions, giving back, saying no (setting boundaries), as well as investing in meaningful connection.

Invest in 5 intentional relationships – a sense of connection with others has been shown to increase happiness. Take time to really consider the people in your life – your friends and family – and determine 5 key relationships. If you can’t think of 5, it’s time to get out there and meet them! Find ways to invest in these people often: carve time out of your day to ask and listen to them, organize dinner parties, arrange coffee dates, go on nature walks, tell them how much you appreciate sharing moments with them.

Promise or Pay: Creating social change through individual action

Promise or Pay is an innovative social platform whose vision is to transform personal promises into wide scale social change. It uses a combination of publicly declared promises and pledges to charities (if promises are not kept) to ensure a win-win outcome with guaranteed impact.

I was absolutely inspired by this concept created by founder Jay Boolkin, an Australian social entrepreneur who used behavioral and motivation research to create this concept. He explains:

Research shows that making a formal declaration of your intentions increases your chance of actually achieving your goal by 33%, and by 72% if money is put on the line.

Inspirational Person: Peter Paul

I wanted to begin to interview different people who inspire me, and share their light with you as well.

Peter Paul was born in New Brunswick to a close-knit family of four, with parents who were both kind and wise. He grew up in Ontario, but spent summers in the maritimes connecting to the rural and coastal landscapes. After school, he linked his interest in geography to mapping work which continued for the next thirty years. He met his wife, Betty, on a canoe trip in the 1980’s, and had two children (I was fortunate enough to be one of them). 

---

~

Q1. Peter, it’s impossible for others not to notice your indomitably positive spirit and generosity. Are these a reflection of an inner choice?

For most people, the way we see ourselves is different from the way others see us. There are several people in our family and our group of friends whose positive spirit and generosity have served as models for me. This has also been true of some strangers in my life – people whose names I will never know, and whom I will likely never meet again, but whose actions I will always remember and appreciate.

Q2. You seem to prioritize getting out in nature, such as taking long walks on a daily basis or biking to work. What impact has nature had on your life? 

Nature has provided a way for me to step back from the details of everyday life, and to appreciate the beauty and rhythm of life which has ‘stood the test of time’. On the grounds of the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, there is a beautiful red oak tree which was planted in 1911, and which I would see on my bike trip to work each day. Sometimes when day-to-day problems would seem overwhelming, I would look at this oak tree which had faithfully continued its yearly cycle of life (new spring buds, summer leaf growth, acorns, falling leaves in the autumn) for one hundred years, in spite of the day-to-day upheavals in my own life, or the latest world news.

Q3. When you reflect back on your life, what is the first memory that comes to mind when you think about your proudest moment?

When I was in Grade 5, we had an hour and a half for lunch – time to walk home for a meal with Mom, and still get back to school for a game of pick-up softball. At that time, a boy attended our school who was a particularly gifted athlete – as a softball pitcher, he threw with speed and accuracy beyond his years. None of us could hit his pitches. After a series of strikes as the batter, I decided to swing before I thought I should – to see if I could anticipate the location of the pitch. It worked.

Q4. What would you tell a younger version of yourself, if you had the chance?

Remember that school is only one way to learn about the world.

Q5. Finally, with all of your experiences and knowledge, do you think there is hope for the world to solve the current social and environmental crises that it is currently facing? Do we have the power to change the world for the better?

I believe that there is hope for the world, because each one of us has the ability to contribute to the solutions – if only we decide in our own minds to do it. The force of people working together towards something worthwhile, towards a goal for the common good, will be unstoppable once it gains momentum.

~

---

**If you enjoyed the content of this post, please consider following my blog, reblogging, and/or sharing on social media (twitter, linkedin, facebook)**

Global Chorus: Daily meditations about hope and the planet

Next year, I hope to start everyday with a bit of hope – with insights and perspectives to keep pushing towards solutions. To spend some time to let ideas marinate, to observe, to taste and feel the fullness of thought leaders perspectives on relevant issues about our world. I want to listen – really listen.  I want to go outside, touch the ground, experience the breeze, smell nature. I want to feel her within me, I want to hear her speak to me. I want to re-energize.

I am humbled to be part of project that will help others to do just that.

“Global Chorus a groundbreaking collection of over 365 perspectives on our environmental future. As a global roundtable for our times, in the format of a daily reader, this book is a trove of insight, guidance, passion and wisdom that has poured in from all over the Earth. Its message is enormously inspiring, and ominous in its warnings. And yet, united in a thread of hope, its contents are capable of helping even the most faithless global citizen to believe that we have the capacity to bring about lasting positive change in our world. Places at this roundtable are occupied by writers, environmentalists, spiritual leaders, politicians, professors, doctors, athletes, business people, farmers, chefs, yogis, painters, actors, architects, musicians, TV personalities, humanitarians, adventurers, concerned youth, concerned senior citizens, civil servants, carpenters, bus drivers, activists, CEO’s, scientists, and essentially those who have something thoughtful and visionary to say about humanity’s place upon Earth. Compiled for your reading as a set of 365 pieces, Global Chorus presents to you a different person’s point of view for each day of your year.”

I had the true pleasure of being at the Ottawa book launch and signing this past week. It was incredible to meet the editor, Todd Maclean, who envisioned this book 5 years ago. It speaks to what the power of a dream, ongoing effort, and an indomitable spirit can accomplish.

Grab a copy of this #1 Amazon bestseller, and join David Suzuki, Paul Hawken, Bill McKibben, William McDonough, Michael Reynolds, Rick Fedrizzi, Will Potter, Maya Angelou, Elizabeth May, and Jane Goodall by adding your voice in this global chorus.

The contributors for the book, were asked the following questions – add your own perspective in the comments below: “Do you think that humanity can find a way past the current global environmental and social crises? Will we be able to create the conditions necessary for our own survival, as well as that of other species on the planet? What would these conditions look like? In summary, then, and in the plainest of terms, do we have hope, and can we do it?”

 

**If you enjoyed the content of this post, please consider following my blog below**